The altitudinal sequence of climax vegetation on mt anglem, stewart island

Wells, Judith A.; Mark, A. F.

doi:10.1080/0028825x.1966.10429047

Cited by 25 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…This may be due to overestimates by the quarter method when it is used in forests with a wide range of diameter classes (Mark & Esler 1970). The plot-derived value (83.3 m 2 ha-l), is similar to comparable forest stands (Mark 1963;Wells & Mark 1966;J. Wardle 1984;Mark & Lee 1985;Stewart 1986), and is assumed to be a reasonable estimate.…”

Section: The Fiordland Patternmentioning

confidence: 83%

Forest succession on landslides in the Fiord Ecological Region, southwestern New Zealand

Mark

Dickinson

Fife³

1989

New Zealand Journal of Botany

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Primary succession to montanerain forest on the bare slip faces of landslides is described from three variously aged slides with plot and plotless data, 24 years after a previous study, and is related to adjacent mature forest. Over a 15-102 yr period striking successional changes occurred in both vegetation and flora.The dominant pioneer, Leptospermum scoparium, persists with decreasing importance in the canopy beyond a century, with regeneration falling completely from the seventh decade. Although some species persist throughout the succession and into the mature forest most characterise particular stages and several were recorded only in the mature forest. Among the 90 vascular plant taxa recorded, richness was variable (38-46 taxa) throughout the seral stages and greatest (52) in the mature forest.A total of 118 bryophyte taxa and 26 lichens were recorded from the succession. Bryophyte richness varied from 54 to 66 taxa, the highest being recorded from late seral (102 yr) forest. Ten to 15 species of lichen were recorded per sere with the greatest number in the youngest (39 yr) stage.Tree basal area increased while that of smalltrees declined after 40 yr. Tree and small-tree densities generally declined after c. 70 yr to values similar to those in the mature forest. Densities of shrubs, subshrubs, and herbs showed no consistent trends with time.The successional pattern can be explained by the facilitation (relay floristics, or autogenic) model. It also conforms with the recently proposed resourceratio model although more data are needed for its substantiation.

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Section: The Fiordland Patternmentioning

confidence: 83%

Forest succession on landslides in the Fiord Ecological Region, southwestern New Zealand

Mark

Dickinson

Fife³

1989

New Zealand Journal of Botany

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“…Cockayne's (1928) term "herb moor" is also inappropriate here because of the absence of peat. and should be retained only for the cushion vegetation of peaty areas on mountain summits in south-east Otago (Mark, 1955) and Stewart Island (Wells and Mark, 1966) which have a similar physiognomy but distinct flora. Alpine tundra (Billings and Mark, 1961) has also proved unacceptable to some (Burrows, 1962) because of its boreal connotation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The high-alpine vegetation of Central Otago, New Zealand

Mark

Bliss

1970

New Zealand Journal of Botany

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SUMMARY 381Extensive areas of dwarfed, tundra-like vegetation, mostly beyond the upper limit of the low-alpine snow tussock grassland, are described from 10 mountain ranges in Central Otago. Environmental data from one representative range indicate that, despite a moderate latitude and altitude, summer temperatures, wind, and snow cover in this vegetation zone are comparable in severity with most high-alpine areas overseas.Four major habitat-physiognomic types are recognised: fellfield, herbfield, cushion, and snowbank. They differ both in physiognomy and flora, while their habitats are differentiated by lithology, altitude, exposure and/or duration of snow cover.Fellfield, being essentially lithologically controlled, is the most distinct type and dominates those ranges with either greywacke or weakly or non-foliated schists, as these tend to fracture into angular blocks. Partially active large stone nets may be present. On the remaining ranges, all with strongly foliated schist, fellfield occurs locally at the highest altitudes. The three other major types also dominate extensive areas, their relative distribution being controlled by macrotopography. On the windswept, cryoplaned, summit plateaux where soils are shallow, there is an extremely dwarfed cushion vegetation in which nine angiosperm families are represented among the 22 cushion-and mat-forming species, and where lichens are important. Herbfield, of somewhat larger plants, occupies less severe sites on deeper soils usually near the lower limit of the high-alpine zone, while snowbank communities occur in numerous cirque basins and other depressions where snow accumulates and persists.Within herbfield and cushion vegetation, mosaics occur along gradients of increasing altitude and/or exposure. These have been described quantitatively. Ten zones have been recognised to cover the total variation of snowbank vegetation in the region. They are defined by duration of snow cover from quite minor effects to a predominance of cryptogams under near-permanent snow.Cushion, herbfield, and snowbank communities, unlike fell field, may be associated in distinct patterns. This occurs where rnicrotopography-soil hummocks, soil stripes, solifluction terraces, solifluction lobes -differentiates .. Miss E. L. Hellaby Grasslands Research Fellow .

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“…Dansereau (1964) was not correct in attributing this especially to New Zealand. Over a greater altitudinal range, for example on Mt Anglem, Stewart Island (Wells & Mark, 1966), the gradient from forest, through scrubland to herb moor is indeed accompanied by a steady turnover of species.…”

Section: Problem 1: ''Climatic Change Is Still Progressing''mentioning

confidence: 99%

Is New Zealand vegetation really ‘problematic’? Dansereau's puzzles revisited

Wilson

Lee

2011

Biological Reviews

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Over four decades ago, Pierre Dansereau, the noted North American ecologist, proposed six features of New Zealand vegetation as being problematic or unusual in a global context. We examine his propositions in the light of current ecological knowledge to determine whether or not these can still be considered unusual characteristics of New Zealand vegetation. (1) 'Climatic change is still progressing' resulting in disequilibrium between species' distributions and the present climate. New data and methods of analysis now available have removed the impression that Dansereau gained of imprecise zonation, unclear vegetation/climate relations and missing vegetation types. Communities cited as having regeneration failure can now be seen as even-aged stands that developed after major disturbance, although there are other, also non-climatic, explanations. However, the cause of the Westland 'Nothofagus gap' has become more, rather than less, controversial. (2) 'Continuity of community composition defies classification' and 'Very few New Zealand associations have faithful species' are correct observations, but perhaps equally true of vegetation elsewhere. Dansereau's assertion of low species richness in New Zealand is not supported by the comparative data available. (3) 'Lack of intolerant [i.e. mid-seral] trees …' is not evident with newer information. The order of species in succession, seen as unclear by Dansereau, has been determined by a range of approaches, largely confirming each other. (4) 'Discrepancies of form and function …' in divaricate shrubs and widespread heteroblasty are still controversial, with many more explanations. Several abiotic explanations have failed to stand up to investigation. Explanations in terms of herbivory have been well supported, although the extinction of the large avian herbivores makes certainty impossible. (5) 'Incidence of hybridization …' remains problematic. We do not know whether the incidence is unusually high, as Dansereau alleged, but the limited comparative data available suggest not. (6) The 'overwhelming … competing power of exotics' is strongly context dependent. They are prominent in many non-forest habitats. It seems that they are drivers of the vegetation change in some habitats, yet passengers after disturbance in others. Invasions can be slow, and may still be very incomplete in some ecosystem types. Whether exotics will eventually take over in most communities, or whether the native species will 'laugh them to scorn' as Cockayne suggested, only time will tell. In conclusion, some aspects of New Zealand's vegetation seem less unusual with increased knowledge, but others remain 'problems'.

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The altitudinal sequence of climax vegetation on mt anglem, stewart island

Cited by 25 publications

References 7 publications

Forest succession on landslides in the Fiord Ecological Region, southwestern New Zealand

Forest succession on landslides in the Fiord Ecological Region, southwestern New Zealand

The high-alpine vegetation of Central Otago, New Zealand

Is New Zealand vegetation really ‘problematic’? Dansereau's puzzles revisited

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